You might question my comment from the title, but no, this isn't a rewatch for me. I didn't even know an animated film version was released last year. How did I miss it? Well, it's never too late, right?
Actually, the movie that I'm going to talk about in this post is originally from a one-shot manga serialized by Shounen JUMP+ back in 2021. I first read it that year because one of my Japanese friends recommended it, and it was amazing. So when I knew of the anime, I had high expectations, and luckily, the anime answered!
Let's talk about the animated movie called LOOK BACK.
NOTE: The photos are all screenshots from the movie.
Look Back is about a 4th grader named Fujino. She loves drawing and is actually quite good at it. Because of that, she's tasked to do a 4-panel manga for their school paper.
Her classmates always praised her for it, and that situation made her really proud of her works. One day, her teacher told her that another student, Kyoumoto, was going to join her on the school paper. Kyoumoto is kind of a recluse and chose to study from home.
Upon seeing the difference in their drawings, Fujino was shocked. Kyoumoto's drawings were so good and detailed that she felt like her manga was too embarrassing to see.
She then decided to work relentlessly hard in improving her craft. She even disregarded all other things, including her friends, and obsessively drew for years... but her drawings always fell short compared to Kyoumoto. In the middle of their 6th grade, she decided to quit.
The two finally met for the first time when Fujino was asked by their teacher to deliver Kyoumoto's diploma to her. She found out that the latter was actually her fan and was encouraged by her.
This meeting made Fujino find her once-lost passion, and the two of them ended up being friends bound by rivalry, admiration for each other, and love of creating manga.
What happened after that encounter? It's for you to find out!
Above is the trailer of the said movie!
The movie reminded me of why I loved this one-shot manga way back in 2021. It was such a nice and bittersweet story. I don't want to spoil anyone, but I cried reading this back then... and I was teary-eyed watching the anime.
I like the flow of the story and how the anime really followed the manga. The animation style is so good and the art style is cute and stunning. I like how the transitions in the movie and the background music is lovely.
Aside from the characters, the setting and landscape art were amazingly phenomenal! Let me show you some screenshots of the same landscape but of different seasons.
Aren't they gorgeous? By these alone, my eyes are full. But this is just one part of the movie... and there's still a lot to take in. The movie is just less than an hour long, but it's fully packed with amazing scenery, awesome animation style, and a heart-wrenching and bittersweet storyline.
When I first read the one-shot manga version of this, it reminded me of BAKUMAN. I love that series, and it's also about two young people aiming to be manga artists. Watching this movie made me want to rewatch BAKUMAN as well. I miss the characters there and the inception of comics... lol Speaking of that, Look Back did the same thing. One of the 4-panel comics made by Fujino was brought to life in the movie, and it was adorable!
Anyway, I'll end this here. Please give this movie a shot, but let me tell you... prepare your heart! See you around!
